Dedicated to the preservation of Long Island's 'gold coast' estates and other things old.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

'Applegarth'

An article on the building of 'Applegarth', the Charles Whitman Wetmore estate designed by Renwick, Aspinwall & Owen c. 1892 on Centre Island, written by Wetmore's wife Elizabeth Bisland. Click HERE and HERE for more on 'Applegarth' and HERE to see the brochure from when the estate was for sale. The house is no longer extant.

9 comments:

Doug Floor Plan
said...

Another sad loss – ‘Applegarth’ was an excellent house on an enviable piece of property. It was a manageable size (the house that sits there now is every bit as large if not larger) & its layout could have easily been adapted to fit a modern lifestyle (mostly reconfiguring the service wing). In comparing the floor plan to the photographs it appears the staircase was originally to have a 90 degree turn but ended up being built straight; I suspect to make the entry hall feel more spacious.

The only thing I don’t understand about the floor plan is why there was a regular sized, solid wood door between the entry hall & the dining room. In most houses I believe there would have been an open walkway (like between the living room & library & library & dining room here) or wide pocket doors. The entry hall was already dark & having that solid door there made it only darker. It’s a mystery (to me at least).

I absolutely love the article written by the Lady of the House. There are many favorite parts, but the part that being close to the road dictated the early Elizabethan style is particularly notable. There have been comments here on the eclectic tastes of the day and that white neoclassical Library must have really made a statement. Applegarth was truly a charming house, with a quality that is almost never achieved in houses built today.